Voice recognition is used in various contexts to verify the identity of a speaker. For example, the owner of a mobile phone may be able to unlock the phone by speaking a word or phrase that the receiving device is able to recognize, based on prior training, as having been spoken by an authorized user. Once the user is recognized as an authorized user, the device allows access. Speech recognition may be used once the device is unlocked, in order to recognize and interpret spoken commands. The salient aspect of the user's voice in all such interactions is simply that the voice can be linked to a person or can be interpreted, e.g., as a command or query.
However, humans often convey information other than identity and language in the spoken word when speaking to one another. For example, a person may raise their voice, conveying anger or excitement in addition to their identity and the actual linguistic content of the words. Similarly, a person may lower their voice to convey confidentiality or secrecy.
While the present disclosure is directed to a system that can eliminate certain shortcomings noted in or apparent from this Background section, it should be appreciated that such a benefit is neither a limitation on the scope of the disclosed principles nor of the attached claims, except to the extent expressly noted in the claims. Additionally, the discussion in this Background section is reflective of the inventors' own observations, considerations, and thoughts, and is not intended to catalog or summarize any item of prior art. As such, the inventors expressly disclaim this section as admitted or assumed prior art. Moreover, the identification or implication herein of a desirable course of action reflects the inventors' own observations and ideas, and therefore cannot be assumed to indicate an art-recognized desirability.